. . .but how many of these switchers really understands things like operability, OS advantages, and the quality of the free bundled software?
In many respects, showing those difference is the entire point of the Apple Store. Prior to their existence, the Apple Resellers often sold other products and were not trying to sell Apple as much as sell something. Thus, Apple’s partnerships with Sears, Circuit City* etc in the ‘90s were doomed to failure if only due to the mentioned sticker shock. The Apple Store has given potential switchers the opportunity to actually talk to somebody about the differences and for those differences to be delineated.
This strategy has obviously worked.
*when I got married, we bought a Performa at the local Circuit City.
I agree. I remember during that time period going into a Circuit City and the Macs being totally ignored. Other stuff being stacked in front of the Mac display. Mac software was pretty much hidden from view. The sales staff didn’t understand Macs and if someone was showing any interest at all, the salespeople would try to steer the customer to a PC. In some cities local Mac User Groups (MUGs) were organizing and going in as volunteers on their free time to demonstrate the Macs to Circuit City’s customers.
I ordered 3 new macs today from ExperCom. A Mac Pro for me, a 24” iMac for my wife and a Mac Mini for my daughter. I’ve been a longtime customer of ExperCom . They have the best prices and they are one of the few online retailers that doesn’t charge out of state sales tax. The tax alone was a savings of about $500.
For most of those “tire kickers” it is the STICKER PRICE that they are looking at and yes, it really is almost double for an APPLE than for a WinDoze machine nowadays.
As an ALL MAC guy myself, I can justify that differential, but how many of these switchers really understands things like operability, OS advantages, and the quality of the free bundled software?
I appreciate your sensitivity to price, but your facts don’t support your statements. Macs are not double the cost of Wintels. Period. Additionally, in every conference call Oppenheimer points out that 50% of the Macs sold through Apple Stores are to first time Mac owners. Mac share in the US is rapidly approaching 10%, whereas just 5 or 6 years ago it was under 3%. That alone tells me that people who ordinarily have bought Wintels in the past, are now buying Macs, price differential or no.
IF price were an issue, the number of switchers wouldn’t be anywhere near that number. The biggest obstacle, in my opinion, to switching is the inertia required to get someone to consider something different, not price.
Macglenn, why do you find Expercom superior to MacMall or Amazon? Well, Amazon hasn’t the greatest selection of Apple kit, especially the previous generation Macs…
Gregg, it’s silly to get bogged down in the ‘Apple tax’ fud. Macs are qualitatively different (most of us would say superior) to Windows machines, but especially since Mac went Intel-inside, it’s become more difficult to avoid side-by-side pricing comparisons. And, like it or not, they generally don’t come out well for Apple.
When I look at my MacBook Pro, I think it’s well worth it—because of Mac OS X, the aesthetics of the design, the superior fit and finish of the construction. But those factors are difficult to quantify—it’s like comparing apples to… But one has to admit that in the vast majority of cases, a Windows system with comparable chips will cost substantially less. Half the price may be pushing it in most cases, but 20 to 30 per cent cheaper doesn’t seem implausible.
Winterpool, I like Expercom in a way because they are a smallish operation specializing in mac. They have their own refurbishing shop, which I have purchased from in the past (no problems). They sell new macs in more configurations than other outlets. MacMall/PCMall is like the Walmart of computer stores. Amazon and BestBuy are avoided now because of the NY Sales Tax they recently started charging.
Gregg, it’s silly to get bogged down in the ‘Apple tax’ fud. Macs are qualitatively different (most of us would say superior) to Windows machines, but especially since Mac went Intel-inside, it’s become more difficult to avoid side-by-side pricing comparisons. And, like it or not, they generally don’t come out well for Apple.
When I look at my MacBook Pro, I think it’s well worth it—because of Mac OS X, the aesthetics of the design, the superior fit and finish of the construction. But those factors are difficult to quantify—it’s like comparing apples to… But one has to admit that in the vast majority of cases, a Windows system with comparable chips will cost substantially less. Half the price may be pushing it in most cases, but 20 to 30 per cent cheaper doesn’t seem implausible.
Really? You might want to price up a comparable Dell 13.3” Inspiron and compare it to Apple’s entry level MacBook. I did and found the following:
MacBook is $999.
Inspiron is $999.
But the Inspiron didn’t include an LED backlit display, or a Multi-touch trackpad, or a Mag-safe power cord. Memory was shared. I upgraded the GPU to the Nvidia 8400. The MacBook comes with the Nvidia 9400 standard.
The Inspiron didn’t include anything that remotely looked like iLife, Photo Booth or Front Row. I couldn’t find any information about available ports on the Inspiron, but assume they are comparable. The Inspiron did include MSFT’s Works Suite and a larger hard drive. You can argue the relative value of a larger hard drive vs iLife. My feeling is that without iLife you don’t need the larger hard drive.
Gregg, it’s silly to get bogged down in the ‘Apple tax’ fud. Macs are qualitatively different (most of us would say superior) to Windows machines, but especially since Mac went Intel-inside, it’s become more difficult to avoid side-by-side pricing comparisons. And, like it or not, they generally don’t come out well for Apple.
When I look at my MacBook Pro, I think it’s well worth it—because of Mac OS X, the aesthetics of the design, the superior fit and finish of the construction. But those factors are difficult to quantify—it’s like comparing apples to… But one has to admit that in the vast majority of cases, a Windows system with comparable chips will cost substantially less. Half the price may be pushing it in most cases, but 20 to 30 per cent cheaper doesn’t seem implausible.
Really? You might want to price up a comparable Dell 13.3” Inspiron and compare it to Apple’s entry level MacBook. I did and found the following:
MacBook is $999.
Inspiron is $999.
But the Inspiron didn’t include an LED backlit display, or a Multi-touch trackpad, or a Mag-safe power cord. Memory was shared. I upgraded the GPU to the Nvidia 8400. The MacBook comes with the Nvidia 9400 standard.
The Inspiron didn’t include anything that remotely looked like iLife, Photo Booth or Front Row. I couldn’t find any information about available ports on the Inspiron, but assume they are comparable. The Inspiron did include MSFT’s Works Suite and a larger hard drive. You can argue the relative value of a larger hard drive vs iLife. My feeling is that without iLife you don’t need the larger hard drive.
Each individual consumer does this when making a purchase of a computer. The thing is the most important factor for a bunch of folks is price and only later do they regret their purchase. Folks that are primarily motivated by price will probably stick with a cheap PC and can never get past the sticker shock of a higher priced but more capable machine. My next door neighbor has a Sony Desktop which is about 5 yrs old he hates the thing. Sony partitioned the main hard drive with 20G on the main C partition and 80 on the D. Guess what when you download stuff it wants to load on the C drive and over-time the C drive fills and the machine slows to the point that you swear at the machine every time you turn it on. Your wife is pissed because she can’t download the pictures from the wedding you went to and the kids games stop working. You call your geek friend to fix, but it will take about 10 hrs of work to resurrect the machine. So do you buy a new PC or MAC? This guy is buying a MAC, but the switcher process took 5 yrs.
The Apple store provides the chance for people to think different. Change takes time and has to overcome inertia of the buyer. Higher prices make the decision a little tougher. The good news is the younger demographic is demanding Apple laptops because they know they provide the best value for the price.
Each individual consumer does this when making a purchase of a computer. The thing is the most important factor for a bunch of folks is price and only later do they regret their purchase. Folks that are primarily motivated by price will probably stick with a cheap PC and can never get past the sticker shock of a higher priced but more capable machine. My next door neighbor has a Sony Desktop which is about 5 yrs old he hates the thing. Sony partitioned the main hard drive with 20G on the main C partition and 80 on the D. Guess what when you download stuff it wants to load on the C drive and over-time the C drive fills and the machine slows to the point that you swear at the machine every time you turn it on. Your wife is pissed because she can’t download the pictures from the wedding you went to and the kids games stop working. You call your geek friend to fix, but it will take about 10 hrs of work to resurrect the machine. So do you buy a new PC or MAC? This guy is buying a MAC, but the switcher process took 5 yrs.
The Apple store provides the chance for people to think different. Change takes time and has to overcome inertia of the buyer. Higher prices make the decision a little tougher. The good news is the younger demographic is demanding Apple laptops because they know they provide the best value for the price.
Exactly my point. People do pay more to get want they want. If their experience for the past 5 years has been horrible, then replacing it with the same (box with Windows) because its cheaper is not really an option.
The ‘switcher’ campaign began about 5 years ago, so think of the momentum that is about to befall the Mac, and price is going to be a very small part of it. People want better. They want it to work, and will pay extra if they have to, to get it. Price is not an issue as long as you’re close, and Apple knows it.
Greg
You also must recognize that Tan has a very valid point then. To some folks price is all that matters and Apple has chosen to not compete for that customer. My cleaning lady was at my house today and her daughter was admiring my Imac. She is a college kid and has a Dell laptop. We got talking about electronic bill pay and I asked her why she hadn’t looked into paying her bills via the Dell. She said it was in the repair shop. She probably doesn’t have the money to afford an Apple, but even then knows she wants one when she can afford it. Another switcher in waiting. If Apple lowered their prices a few hundred dollars they could capture a large percentage of switchers in waiting, but then will customer service suffer. The Apple store allows folks to get in and touch the equipment and have the smart folks answer the questions. While the Apple folks don’t have all the answers they are very knowledgeable. Converting people from a PC to Apple world is not an overnight process for an entrenched PC user.
Apple does not want to compete in the sub-$800 PC market; the margins would be too low. Apple does not need to sell a Mac to everybody. And they are doing a good job growing their marketshare.
BTW, this discussion, about Apple not competing in the lower tiered market, has been going on for years. Let’s take a look who is stronger today? Microsoft/Dell or Apple?
Apple does not want to compete in the sub-$800 PC market; the margins would be too low. Apple does not need to sell a Mac to everybody. And they are doing a good job growing their marketshare.
BTW, this discussion, about Apple not competing in the lower tiered market, has been going on for years. Let’s take a look who is stronger today? Microsoft/Dell or Apple?
My 77-year-old Florida neighbor has a five year old HP running XP. Windows is a terrible experience for him, as he is not all that computer savvy. He fears Vista, so he is postponing an upgrade and plans to buy a new HP when Windows 7 comes out. Last week I suggested that he just buy a Mac instead, and his reaction was “then I just get a whole new set of problems”. So I said “Well if that is true, just make an appointment and take your problem to the Apple Store.
Today, he bought an iMac online. But it was the store being there that enabled the sale.
Sunday afternoon at the Apple Store at the Danbury Faire Mall in Danbury, CT.
The place is -packed-.
Some clusters of people standing outside, too, some people drift out, but most are staying.
So far, I’ve seen two Macbook 13” unibodies walk out as new purchases in the 20 minutes I’ve been here.
Lots of conversations I’m overhearing with people who are going to be buying.
One other note: this is a GREAT way to try out apps without buying. There are demos of dozens of the most popular apps, games, etc installed on all the iPod Touches here.
With all if the harping in the press about “luxury products” that people “can’t afford”, it’s very refreshing to visit a store and see the opposite, in person.
Ok, now a 24” iMac with a couple of printers just walked out the door.
And then another 13” Macbook followed.
This is fun. If I just sit here for a couple of hours and count up the purchases being made, I’ll feel much better about the Apple economy when I leave.
Ok, now a 24” iMac with a couple of printers just walked out the door.
And then another 13” Macbook followed.
This is fun. If I just sit here for a couple of hours and count up the purchases being made, I’ll feel much better about the Apple economy when I leave.
No intent to dampen your efforts, but you must remember that Danbury Connecticut is one of the more affluent areas of the US. As much as I would like it to be so, Danbury isn’t representative of the overall market.
